President signs border security bill

President Bush May on 14 signed a bill designed to strengthen U.S. visa controls and border security.

The Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act requires, by October 2004, the implementation of an integrated entry and exit data system and tamper-resistant, machine-readable visas with biometric identifiers.

The House had passed H.R. 3525 by a 411-0 vote May 8 after the Senate allowed the removal of a provision that would have exempted the Justice Department from procurement rules when buying a computer system to screen visa applicants.

Among its provisions, the bipartisan bill directs the hiring of at least 200 full-time INS investigators and inspectors each year from fiscal 2003 to fiscal 2006; authorizes $150 million for border security technology; and requires development of an electronic means of tracking foreign students in the United States.

"We can do a better job of making our borders more secure, and make our borders smart," Bush said at the bill signing. "We must use technology and be wise about how we use technology, to speed the flow of commerce across our borders, and to identify frequent travelers who pose no risk. We ought to be routing out smugglers and focusing on criminals ? and, of course, stopping terrorists from coming into the country."

More than 500 million people enter the United States each year, half of which are U.S. citizens returning from abroad. Eleven million trucks cross U.S. borders and 51,000 foreign ships call in U.S. ports, Bush said.

The new measures will be effective only if federal authorities have access to important information, Bush said. The FBI and CIA are doing a good job of sharing information, and the federal government is doing a better job of sharing information with state and local governments, but more must be done, he said.

"We've got to do a better job of sharing information and expanding information to the INS and the State Department and Customs agents, and throughout the intelligence community," he said. "This bill enables us to modernize our communication, so the information flows freely and quickly."